History

The Mercyhurst Green Team was established during the 1999-2000 school year as a result of the creation of SPAN, Students for the Protection and Appreciation of Nature. Mercyhurst graduates Dave Adams and Dave Hermenau founded SPAN in 1999 to replace ECCO, the former student-run environmental organization. As one of its initial projects, SPAN took steps to revive the recycling program, which had been absent from Mercyhurst College since ECCO expired. The recycling initiative, led by Adams and Dr. Chris Magoc, an assistant professor of history, was the first major step in developing a group sustainability effort.

In 2000, SPAN and Magoc, along with long-time environmental educator and advocate Sister Maura Smith, RSM, formed connections with William Kerbusch, director of facilities, and Thomas Billingsley, executive vice president for administration and finance. They brought Connie Grenz, sustainability officer for Collins Products, to Mercyhurst to talk about her company's efforts to become more environmentally efficient and sustainable. Collins is a group of interrelated forest product companies. In its journey to sustainability, Collins adopted the principles of Natural Step, an international environmental organization. During Mercyhurst's Academic Celebration in 2000, Grenz gave a presentation on The Natural Step and Collins Products Business Strategy, which involves the 4 Rs of sustainability: Re-focus, Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle. The emerging Green Team then brought the Campus Ecology program of the National Wildlife Federation to Mercyhurst College on Dec. 3-4, 2000 to discuss strategies to "green the campus."

Shortly thereafter, Sister Maura, Dr. Magoc. Adams , and other supportive faculty worked with (then) Mercyhurst College President, Dr. William P. Garvey to discuss the formation of an organization that would advance an institutional commitment to sustainability. The Green Team was born.